Auditor again questions NSW govt figures

The NSW auditor-general has questioned the revaluation of 27,000 school buildings after their total value increased by $8 billion but those built under a federal stimulus program fell by more than $660 million.

Just weeks after Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat found a $1 billion error in the state's June budget figures, he has again raised concerns about accountancy methods used by the state government.

His latest audit raises doubts about what he called a "flawed" revaluation of 27,000 school and TAFE buildings, conducted by the Education Department earlier this year, particularly the significant fall in Building the Education Revolution (BER) structures.

The replacement cost of the department's building stock rose from $26.5 billion to $34.6 billion under the evaluation, but the value of the Rudd government BER buildings dropped by one third from $1.9 billion to $1.2 billion.

Mr Achterstraat called for the department to review its revaluation methodology to confirm the figures, saying it had been unable to provide "sufficient evidence" to back the construction costs used.

"There were flaws in the process used and more work is needed to support the values recorded," Mr Achterstraat said in a statement on Tuesday.

"This work may confirm the value of the buildings is correct, or it may highlight shortcomings in the revaluation process."

"The significant decrease in cost attributed to new BER buildings in the revaluation process may be due to actual costs paid for BER buildings being too high, construction prices may have been higher during the period of the BER program, or replacement cost rates used in the revaluation process may be incorrect."

In October, Mr Achterstraat found the deficit of $337 million for 2011-12 announced in this year's budget should in fact be a surplus of $680 million.